Testing, 1, 2, 3.

Sometimes, when I am lying in bed, my head gets overrun with unrelated thoughts. Sometimes these thoughts are not thoughts but they are dreams. The difference between thoughts and dreams is not apparent to me. I would see a Doctor about it but the Doctor I would choose will not be a Doctor for several weeks.
Last night's controversy was somewhat reassuring. To think that a dolt such as me could even have such thoughts. It revolved around the question of whether the Deity still tests us or whether the Deity has abandoned testing us. After thousands of years and billions of stiff necks, has the Deity finally run out of F's?
In times gone by if you looked out the window and saw hundreds of bellicose Phillistines in your yard, you could be pretty sure that you were being tested. Now I think that we are being allowed to test ourselves. The test that I am undergoing is pretty self-evident.
The man on the first floor, the landlord, does not appear to be a very nice man. He does several things that test my patience and restraint.
A while ago I brought him some Swedish Meatballs that I had made. He was in the kitchen making Hamburger Helper. HE IS FRENCH! I wanted to scream. He is the only Frenchman I have ever met that would eat such crap. To have such a heritage of culinary excellence and abandon it is heresy. Not only that but he never brought the bowl back There I was bringing him something that I had spent a great deal of time preparing and ther he was making Hamburger Helper. I left immediately, not wanting to watch him slather the meatballs with ketchup. I am sure that the only thing about this incident that remains in his mind is that he got a free bowl out of it.
The man has a grandson who is about three or four. The boy is a very nice bright and pleasant little boy. The grandfather takes care of him during the day as the boy's Mother is not there. She probably has to work. The grandfather spends most of the day hollering at the boy. "Don't do this and Don't do that and Stop that.". I was there one day when the boy fell down the stairs and had cut his lip. I went over to comfort him and the grandfather became incensed.
"Leave him alone! I told him to hold the railing. He has got to learn to suffer the consequences of his actions. If you baby him he will never learn to be a man. He will become a sissy!". Because he is the landlord, I held my mouth and let it be. The boy is only three or four! The man has at least five children and they never come to visit. It must have been hard for them. I met his son and he is really a basket case. He is not a sissy but he is a very confused man.
Each day the landlord sits on the porch and listens to Rush Limbaugh. Because he is a little hard of hearing he has the volume turned very high. I am not hard of hearing and the trash that comes from that radio program infuriates me. Then the landlord later expounds to me all of the wonderful knowledge he has accumulated.
Is this the test? I hold my peace, I smile, and I try to be nice to the man. Am I passing the test or am I simply knuckling under because he is the landlord? D-.
The neighbors in the back are motorcycle people. They are very nice but they crank up their Harleys at all hours of the day and night. Yesterday I brought them some tomatoes and salad greens. I was young once and the day that I finally had some mufflers installed on my car, the lady next door sent me a Thank You card. B-?
The man that owns the convenience store down the street is from Bangladesh. He is a Moslem and yesterday we had a long conversation about Ramadan. I don't think that I could complete such a holiday. We spoke of the Deity. He has the same opinion that I do. There is One God. One god of many names in different areas of the world and different cultures. One God, many names.
I like the man very much. Is it because he has the same opinions as me? C-.
So the testing continues. It will fill a lifetime. There are no Phillistines in our yards, unless we live on Wall Street or near a law school, so we will be tested by the petty annoyances that are only annoyances because of the way we personally think. If we think that someone is rude or uneducated, perhaps we should send them a card thanking them for their presence. A+. It doesn't change anything but it just might brighten the day of a fellow human being.
I have never met another human that I thought was evil. They might be different from me but I am also different from them and therefore we will all journey together down life's paths. Perhaps I will find their footsteps on my paths. Perhaps they will find mine on their paths. The only good thing about having a stiff neck is that you are capable of bearing heavy burdens.
Stand up straight, smile, and whistle a happy tune. That pain in your neck might soon go away because you are the only one that perceives it. It comes from you, not anyone else.